Navigating IRS Info - May 2010 - YouTube video text script

You know, Mom and Dad owned and ran this great bakery for 22 years. They worked hard, had a couple of employees, but no company benefits. Now they’re retired and living mostly on Social Security.

When I took over, I knew I wanted more for the business – for me and for my employees.

Now, to stay competitive, you’ve got to get and keep good employees. So I knew that I needed to offer some sort of benefits, some sort of… retirement plan.

But where do I start?

I went on the Web and searched for “retirement plans.” There were so many sites. SIMPLE, SEP, 401(k)s, IRAs, Traditional and Roth. There are so many choices.

Now I went back to the top, and there was the IRS Web site for retirement plans. I opened “The Navigator,” and – boom – it was all there, all these retirement products.

“Lots of Benefits” spelled out – why I needed to have a retirement plan, listed tax incentives and showed what it could do for my employees – kind of the icing on the cake.

What really caught my eye was “Choosing A Retirement Solution for Your Small Business." It listed a number of different plans and showed the differences between them and helped me make my choice. The SIMPLE IRA was right for us.

Then “The Navigator” took me to "SIMPLE IRA Plans for Small Businesses." That explains setting up a plan, enrolling employees and depositing and investing contributions. There’s limited set-up costs, no annual filings and no tests.

Now, of course, you have to maintain your plan, add new employees, keep things running smoothly, right? Now, “The Navigator” took me to a “Checkup” brochure and to the “SIMPLE IRA Checklist.” Now, basically, it’s a series of questions with links to more information. If you answer "no" to any of the questions, you might have a mistake in your plan.

But “The Navigator” will take you to the final stop and show you how to correct those errors and usually without even having to contact the IRS.

You know, I still could be wandering the Web, trying to find the best retirement plan, but “The Navigator” – it took me right there. You should check it out, irs.gov/ep.